Yesterday my neighbour asked me if I knew how to make bhuni hui daal. I was lost. What is bhuni daal, I asked. Do you roast the daal before cooking it, I wondered. She didn’t know. She said it is very different from regular daal preparations; there is no water and each grain of daal is separate as opposed to regular daals where everything is mashed up together. She just remembered having it at some place and was wondering if I knew the recipe. After she left, I called my mom to ask, as I had never eaten bhuni daal but it sounded interesting. My mom told me it’s a very common Punjabi dish and her landlady makes it quite often. So she asked her and that’s how this recipe came from Chandigarh to Angola! There are a lot of different preparations on the internet but I preferred aunty’s recipe – very simple and very flavourful.

Method
Heat ghee in a kadhai
Once the ghee is hot, add onions, sauté until they start to brown
Add green chillies and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 mins
Add all the spices and mix well
Drain the daal and add it to the kadhai. Mix well and sauté for 5 mins
Add just enough water (about 1½ cup) to cover the top of daal with a thin layer and cook covered on low flame till the daal is soft and the water has dried. Depending on your liking you can keep some water so that the daal is not very dry.
Drizzle lemon juice, mix well.
Remove from heat and garnish with chopped green chillies and fresh coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapatis or paranthas.

Food is never just food. I believe it’s story telling, it’s conversation. It brings people together and it speaks a universal language! I love to play around in my kitchen. The thrill of being able to create something new and sharing it with others is what fuels my passion for cooking. The fact that dear husband is a foodie and an honest critique helps! I blog about my adventures in the kitchen at http://www.myweekendkitchen.in